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Design and usage A Ring Transporter (or ring teleporter) is a transportation device originally developed and used by the Ancients but now manufactured and used almost exclusively by the Goa'uld and their enemy, the Tok'ra. It consists of five rings (as seen in the TV show) or nine rings (as seen in the movie) that levitate slightly off the ground and stack on top of each other during operation. All transport rings are identical and are thought to be mass-produced by the Goa'uld in staggering numbers. In the sixth season episode, "The Other Guys," it is stated that each ring transporter platform weighs 12.9 tons but it is not clear what components are included in the term "platform."• Also established in that episode is the fact that Earth's naqahdah generators are capable of powering transport rings. The rings are roughly half the diameter of a Stargate and functions under similar principles. However, if a set of rings is under water, the column of water is transported along with anyone else (unlike a Stargate, which prevents such events from occurring), to a mildly amusing effect--to an outside observer.• The rings move to surround an object or person being transported from a holding platform, which is a cylindrical chamber, contained in either a ceiling compartment or rising up from the floor. Function All matter inside the rings is dematerialized and teleported via matter stream to another set of rings in a different location where it is then rematerialized. A unique feature of the ring transporter is that it "swaps" matter between the two locations. If there is a person or object at the receiving set of rings, the rings simply exchange the two simultaneously. This has been seen as a sneaky way of escape from an area; by stepping under the rings as they come down and transporting out when an enemy happens to be transporting in. Rings in operation A single set of rings can descend from a ship above a planet's surface to another ring platform without using the second set of rings, as used to land on Proclarush Taonas in Lost City An additional feature of the Ring Transporter is that they can automatically seek out the nearest receiving Ring Transporter even when their location is not known, as shown in Beachhead.• In the Stargate movie, Ra's Chief Anubis Guard (this Anubis is not the same one as in the series) had been killed when the ring transports were activated while he was under it; his head lay within their transportation area, his body outside of it, and he was decapitated. They can be activated by a transport ring remote worn on the arm or hand by Goa'uld and their Jaffa, or controlled by a remote panel located somewhere near a ring platform. It is possible that the rings can be set to be 'out of phase' with existing matter, allowing it to pass through matter without disturbing it. This is evidenced in the SG-1 episodes The Tokra, Part 1, where the rings can be observed passing through sand without disturbing it, and in Seth, where the rings pass through solid wooden planks with no visible opening. However, when a single set are used, as described above, they punch a hole through any obstacles until they reach the platform. Storage and mobile rings After a completed transport, the rings move back into their storage platform and deactivate. The rings themselves do not transport. Some ring platforms are portable, and can be moved when they are inactive. They contain sensors that detect other active transport rings in an area. Transport rings are also sometimes used to enter and exit from spacecraft, with one set of rings inside the craft and another set of rings mounted outside the hull. This is commonly seen with the Goa'uld Tel'tak cargo ships and Death Gliders •, but the Earth ship Prometheus also uses them in this way.• A Tel'tak's ring transporter was used to transport a Kull Warrior outside while it was in flight in a planet's atmosphere and once the Kull Warrior had rematerialized outside the hull, the external rings fell away from the craft along with him.• Transported matter passes between sets of rings in a "matter stream" that can be detected by a ship's sensors. It is possible to intercept a matter stream that is in transport by interposing a set of mobile rings (like those in a Goa'uld shuttlecraft) between the sending rings and the planned receiving rings. Ori rings The Priors of the Ori apparently also use ring transporters; there are six rings instead of five, and the rings themselves are smoother. They can apparently also completely disappear under ground, which could be to an 'out of phase' setting. However, unlike the Milky Way rings, Ori rings seem to be able to transmit the matter stream instantly between stars as shown in Origin. In the season 10 premier episode Daniel is able to beam over to the Ori vessel using a Ring Transporter, indicating that the two systems are compatible.• Similar technology There are also some similarities between ring transporters and the transportation booths in Atlantis, including similar flashes of light upon transportation and swapping of the contents of the pair of devices when operated at the same time. The actual beam sound is also the same. Considering that the Ancients invented both, it is conjectured that the technologies are related. The Asgard also have a similar transport system, but it does not require the use of the rings. It is called by humans an Asgard "beam" or "beam transporter"; it was installed on both the ''Prometheus'' and on ''Daedalus''-class battlecruisers. It requires either the use of Asgard sensors or a radio signal from the object to be transported in order to acquire a target. The Sodan tribe transport pillars (Called the Eye of the Gods by the Sodan) also have a similar visual effect. These were also built by Ancients and are used by the Sodan (along with their wrist personal cloaks) to avoid Goa'uld detection and extermination for a thousand years. The pillar is activated by typing certain symbols in a precise order. One does not have to be touching the pillar in order to be transported as evidenced by Teal'c not touching the pillar when he rematerialized in the season nine episode Arthur's Mantle.• | ||||||||||
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